a market economy does have its own principle of income distribution. a market economy pays people more the mo economically productive they are. this principle probably keeps the productive process running rather smoothly, and this ultimately provides more abundance for all of us. however, many people can get left out in this process-- for instance, people who att both poor and ill. when a poor person gets seriously ill, his already low productivity suffers a severe blow while his need for support mounts sharply-- often catastrophically-- given today's momeal medical costs. the medicaid program says, in effect, that this burden is too great r any individual to bear by himself. the market mayave a just appreciation of abilities, but it doesn't have a just appreciation of needs. society has to step in. there is always some cost to this. when you start redistributing income, you're increasing tax burdens on the economically more productive groups in the economy. medicare and medicaid programs have a tendency to up medical costs generally. as in many econom